Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Pima Medical Institute-East Valley

This program's debt load creates immediate problems. At $8,000, graduates here pay nearly double what they'd face at comparable Arizona nursing programs (median: $4,500). That becomes harder to justify when first-year earnings of $28,834 trail the state median by only $500—you're borrowing more to earn roughly the same amount. The 95th percentile debt ranking signals this is among the most expensive practical nursing programs nationally relative to outcomes.

Within Arizona's competitive nursing landscape, the picture looks especially stark. GateWay Community College graduates earn $60,620—more than double what Pima Medical Institute-East Valley grads make in their first year. Even mainstream options like Pima Community College deliver $47,205, a nearly $20,000 advantage. While this program does hit the middle of Arizona programs in earnings (40th percentile), it ranks at the bottom nationally (5th percentile), suggesting Arizona's nursing market overall pays below the national standard.

The 23% earnings growth to $35,578 by year four helps narrow the gap, but that still leaves graduates well below what peers at other Arizona schools earned right out of the gate. For families choosing between nursing programs in the Phoenix area, the community college pathway offers dramatically better value—stronger earnings with less debt. Unless location or schedule flexibility make this program uniquely accessible, the financial case points elsewhere.